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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25108195">Take Back Your Stones</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesOfOnyxBats/pseuds/TalesOfOnyxBats'>TalesOfOnyxBats</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Poverty, Romance, Starvation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:22:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25108195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesOfOnyxBats/pseuds/TalesOfOnyxBats</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Azula is banished to the Earth Kingdom, its citizens don’t take kindly to her being there. Only one person seems to sympathize. One person who doesn’t particularly like firebenders.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azula/Jet (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Take Back Your Stones</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Azula Week 2020 Day 1</p><p>Prompt: Love<br/>Pair: Jet/Azula<br/>Song: Blink182 - I Really Wish I Hated You</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He knows what it is like to have his reality so fragmented. So shattered, his worldviews broken. He supposes that there is irony in that she has contributed to that shattering world view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fire princess peers up at him through strands of tangled hair. He wonders how it is that she got to be like this; semi-incoherent and wandering Earth Kingdom streets in the middle of the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wants to hate her, he is supposed to hate her. She is exactly what he hates, a human embodiment of the Fire Nation and all of its ideals and war crimes. And yet she looks so small and so thoroughly exhausted like the ruins of a once grand empire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In this girl he sees hatred and ruthlessness. He sees soldiers marching and razing homes and crops. In this girl he sees lives being uprooted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In this girl he sees a life uprooted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He thinks that she is every bit as broken as anyone else touched by the war. He rubs his hand over his face, trying to remind himself that she stands for everything he despises. That she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>everything that he despises.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d heard tell that she had been tried for her war crimes and was ultimately sentenced to have her titled revoked and to be sentenced to exile. That the other nations wouldn’t accept any further negotiations nor peace offerings until she was either executed or stripped out power and banished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jet wonders if the Fire Lord is remorseful that his hand had been forced in such a way. Or if he is thrilled to have shown his sister out. Jet decides to himself that Zuko is happy, firebenders have no sense of loyalty nor family value. There is no room for it when honor, power, and formality are valued above all else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Evidently, Jet doesn’t understand the logic of the former princess’ exil, even if he thinks that she has earned it. All it has done is put her in their streets to terrorize them rather than her own people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He glances over at the princess again, she isn’t exactly doing much terrorizing. She is slumped against the wall. From what he can tell, she is cold. Or maybe it is stress that makes her shiver. His heart clenches. He grits he teeth, trying to will compassion and sympathy away. He doesn’t even want to spare her pity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then she meets his eyes. It can only be him that she is staring at because he is the only other person out so late. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looks away just as fast and he hustles away from her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t see her again for some weeks and when he does, she is noticeably thinner and dirtier. Her hair is even more scraggly. Her eyes are vacant. He notices that her arms and legs are bruised and have a helping of openly bleeding cuts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few hours of observing from afar and he knows why. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throwing rocks at the fallen princess is a source of entertainment for kids and adults alike. It is a game for both the wealthy and the impoverished, because both classes are above her. They know it. She knows it. She doesn’t fight back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She either lacks the will or is too malnourished to stand a chance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tries to smile and relish in such a powerful symbol for the Fire Nation being tormented. But he finds that it just...hurts? The smile never comes and he feels sick for having wanted to do it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next day, out of morbid curiosity, he finds himself back at the same restaurant, looking across the same street. He finishes a helping of ostrich-horse meat and pushes his chair in. She is still on that corner and a gaggle of men and women at least two years her senior are casting stones again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Absently, he finds himself walking towards the scene. “Oh, hi Jet.” Greets the smallest woman. He doesn’t know them. He doesn’t know a good many of the people who know his name. Who have heard about his time as a Freedom Fighter and the day he’d nearly died saving the Avatar. They talk to him with respect and yet they keep him outcast. He is too rough and unpredictable for their liking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” He gives a small wave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here, have a go.” The oldest looking boy presses a sizable rock into his palm. “You at their kind more than us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They step aside and let him through. He hasn’t ever been this close to the former princess. His stomach sinks at the site. It is one thing to glance her haggard state from afar and another to observe it up close. The welts on her arm have the appearance of a blooming infection, she smells of sickness too. Her hair is matted in places and might be infested with lice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you waiting for?” Asks the second girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He waits for her lips to part and inquire, “yes, what are you waiting for.” But the firebender sits silent and waiting. And those eyes, there is nothing in them. He supposes that, that made it easier to let the stone fly. It nails her on the forehead and she flinches. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His stomach lurches unpleasantly, he hadn’t expected her to flinch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t expected her to make a sound, especially not one so feeble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She recovers rather quickly, retreating back into whatever numbness she’d been in before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t return to that restaurant. He doesn’t want to see her again. She’s a firebender, he hates her. And yet he doesn’t want to see that kind of suffering again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he does.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sees it nearly a month later. He lingers by a food cart, snacking on an apple, three copper pieces well spent. He doesn’t see her at first. He hears her before he sees her. And it is not her that he hears first. He takes the final bite of his apple and is about to discard it when he hears a slap. He watches an apple fall from her grasp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not for you!” The merchant scowls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She holds up  three copper pieces. The merchant swats them away and she scrambles to pick them up before someone else can. “Not. For. You.” The man repeats. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A Freedom Fighter, that’s what he’d called himself. He’d prided himself on fighting on behalf of people who could use the help. Earthbenders and waterbenders, he reminds himself. He watches her slink away before returning to the stall and offering the man three more copper pieces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula’s stomach rumbles. She had been holding back for quite some time now. Partly due to a lack of funding--she’d spent everything she’d managed to save on healing her infected cuts--and partly due to her reluctance to talk to anyone. But her body couldn’t afford another day without food…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She holds her right hand in her left and rubs the stinging red patch.The weight of the three copper pieces is heavy in the hand that she holds. That stall had been the only one in her price range and its owner has refused her service. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it is a sign that she should just let go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something thuds onto her lap and she gives a reflexive cringe. Yet it doesn’t hurt like a rock and it hasn’t been thrown with any real force. She picks up the apple and stares at the boy. “You wanted it, eat it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She narrows her eyes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>it can’t be…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And it isn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he takes a seat next to her, she realizes that his face is not scarred. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though she does recognize the face. She has no name for it, but she has caught him several times observing her as though she is some sort of feral animal. She has to admit that she does feel like one. Everyone treats her like one. And he had too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wants to reject the apple, but her body’s cravings get the better of her and she eats it almost with a degree of greed. It is wholly undignified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So…” The boy starts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” She asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just bought you food.” He grumbles. “I didn’t have to do that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She points at her forehead. “No, you didn’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighs. “You’re right. I didn’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her breath catches.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why did you do it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hesitates. “I don’t know. It’s just a habit to hate firebenders.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure.” He replies. “I guess to see if you want a place to stay. The war is over and I’m trying to leave the past in the past.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A place to stay… “where is this place?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a small house.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula fends off a ray of hope. Hope is a dangerous thing for her, she spares a glance at the copper pieces glinting in the palm of her hand. But a house, a real shelter…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll come with you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the first time in ages she is relatively clean. She can finally see the true color of her skin without a cover of dirt. It is a shade or two darker than she is used to having been out in the sun longer than usual. She is no longer mortified by the scent of her body. She isn’t shrouded in lavish perfumes, but an odor of filth also doesn’t cling to her. It is refreshing, she almost feels human again. She rubs her arms, for once her fingers don’t come back caked with dirt. Her fingernails, though cracked and unpampered, no longer have dirt beneath them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her hair is a lost cause though, it is matted and muddy beyond repair. She nearly drives herself to tears yanking at it and fussing with it. And even if she could work all of the knots and tangles from it, it is infested with lice. Her stomach sinks. It used to be so silky and lush. She is dirty and disgusting and she decides that she can’t stand the sight of herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy, Jet, finds her in the bathroom fighting her hair and nearly weeping in frustration. “Do you want me to give it a try?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t want him to know that she is filthy enough for lice. So she shakes her head. He watches her struggle before speaking out loud what she has silently acknowledged, “We’re probably going to have to cut it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her stomach pluments further. “But...I…” She grips the comb tighter and squeezes her eyes shut. There is no sense in being a child about it. “Go ahead.” The sooner she has it hacked off, the sooner it will grow back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula wonders if he gets a thrill out of cutting her hair, knowing exactly how much it means to a firebender, how much it means to her personally. He must get a kick out of stripping her of the last of her dignity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watches locks drift down towards her feet. Clump after clump until there is nothing left to cut. He gives her the privacy to wash her head again. The privacy to mourn the loss of her hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She must have taken too long because there is a knock on the door. “Give me a moment.” She musters. She dresses herself; for a moment she forgets about the loss of her hair. Though it is a size or two too big, she savors the cleanliness of the garments. It is free of stains and tears. It is comfortable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She opens the door. And almost meekly steps out. She makes a point of avoiding the mirror. She doesn’t want to see what she looks like with no hair and protruding ribs. She has grown so skinny, she looks as hollow as she feels on the inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re probably still hungry.” He states. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the mention of food her stomach cramps, reflexively she holds her hand to it. “I am.” She confirms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He motions to the table. “Help yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula wishes she could say that she had the decency and self control to hesitate. But she is at the table before she realizes that she had moved at all. Having seen no food at all for quite some time, the three dishes laid out on the table look like a feast. It has been so long. She takes the bowl of noodles first. Months ago she might have called them bland and criticized their lack of seasoning. But Agni, are they tasty now. “This is wonderful.” She comments between mouthfuls. She is practically inhaling noodles and the bowl is empty before she realizes it. She sets that empty bowl aside and takes a plate of...she isn’t sure what kind of meat it is but it doesn’t matter. It looks succulent and it smells divine. When she puts it on her tongue is is fantastically sizzling and cooked very well. Halfway through her meal she realizes that she has completely forgotten her manners. She only recalls them when Jet remarks, “slow down, you’ll make yourself sick.” She goes rigid and her face flushes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to have to get used to eating or…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t need to tell her, she is already feeling queasy. She thinks that the nausea shows on her face as she wraps her arms around her middle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t expect him to spare her any sympathy, but he puts a rather tender hand on her back and says, “maybe we should start with softer foods.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least she won’t have to hold her hair back as her meal comes back up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He has been living with her for several months now, for a firebender she is very slow to warm up to a person. Getting her body used to food again had been a nightmarish endeavor. If he gave her too much too soon or the wrong type of meal he’d find himself caring for a sick and nauseous exiled princess. If he didn’t give her enough food, she’d get cranky and unbearable to be around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He often found himself cursing the hot temperament of firebenders. And just as often he’d find himself wondering if he’d be able to better himself with her making it so difficult to see firebenders more positively. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But eventually she’d given him just enough of an opening. He’d gone out to buy more food and come back soon enough to find her curled up in his bed crying quietly to herself. He recalls having thought that it was funny to see someone who’d been so high and mighty now so low. He recalls how fast that thought had fled when she’d sat up and looked at her with hurt and hopelessness in her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite all of his instincts and habits, he’d sat down next to her and let her lean on him. She was surprisingly not unpleasant to be close to. He had absently rubbed circles on her back as she’d fought to compose herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had begun treating him differently after that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Presently, Azula sits atop the window sill, one leg stretched out and the other pulled up to her chest with her arm resting upon it as she lets the sun warm her skin. It is healthier now, significantly cleaner. Her figure has a more healthy fullness now, but it is still too slight for his liking, for him to rest assured that she is in good health. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though her hair, what has grown back of it,  has regained some of it’s glossiness. That it is growing so fast, is a reassuring sign. It still only reaches above her ears, something that she constantly complains of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thinks that it looks kind of cute though, especially when she lets him ruffle it up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns away from the windowpane, swinging her legs over the sill, as he draws nearer to her. It is hard to tell what she is thinking as she kicks her feet at the air. So he inquires.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Home.” She mumbles so quietly that he almost doesn’t catch it. This is the first time that she has tried to open up to him. “I’d like to go back there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stops himself from chuckling. Only she could make an, “I wanna go home,” sound so poised and elegant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, the Fire Nation isn’t that great.” He leans back against the wall. “Just a bunch of hot-headed people doing hot-headed things and wearing these ridiculously large headpieces…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you seen the nobility here?” Azula scoffs. “I think that I’d break my neck wearing one of their hair ornaments.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time he does laugh. “The food is too spicy there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again her face bunches up. “This food is so bland that my tongue can’t tell jerky apart from cabbage stew.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tries not to laugh at the jab at his own culture. But her humor is so dry and blunt that he has to appreciate it. It’s not unlike his own. “You can’t even eat spices right now.” He lightly jabs her tummy. It is a risky move but it only elicits a cross look of both annoyance and acceptance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She folds her arms across her chest and clears her throat, “so you are admitting that Earth Kingdom cuisine is so weak that and bland that…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nudges her. “Earth Kingdom food is not weak. Firebenders are just masochists. You guys like to act all tough…” he puffs out his chest and deepens his voice. “Look how many peppers I put into my ice cream. My face is red and I’m crying. I am superior.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What kind of deviant puts peppers in their ice cream?” She asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Firebenders.” He declares. “You guys put pepper in everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shrugs, “most things.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It is strange to joke and jest with her. Everyone who he’d talked to had made it sound like she was some sort of demon sent to terrorize the masses. Like she was this twisted and wholly evil beast. Yet he finds that, most often, she is polite and eloquent. Frank and rather abrasive, but not particularly unpleasant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Granted he hasn’t seen her speak to anyone else. She mostly keeps to herself and makes conversation with him. He wonders if he should try to open her up to more conversation. But she has only just begun to start talking to him like this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In another month she bears no signs of having been starved. She can eat normally, without having to fret over portion size and levels of spice. Her energy is bold and vibrant in the way that a firebender’s ought to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He thinks that he is fully comfortable with her now. He has begun to pick up on her habits, waking up and sitting on that window sill for a while, picking the ends off of her bread, and checking her bed for bugs before laying in it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He is almost certain that she is aware of his habits too; in the most dramatic way she uses a stick to move the socks he leaves laying around. Every so often he’ll find a blade of straw on his dress which he promptly plucks into his mouth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A part of him still fights to cling onto his hatred of the Fire Nation and its people, but the more time he spends with her, the harder this becomes. It is one thing to simply talk to and coexist with a firebender and another matter entirely to live with one. She has been their for a while now and his house still remains upright and unscorched. The only fires within it are ones that dance upon candle wicks. He has never been fond of candles--fire in general makes him squeamish. But they are a comfort to the former princess, they remind her of home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He compromises with her and lets her keep them around, so long as she doesn’t light them while he is around to stress over them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula watches the candle burn down to its last bit of wax before extinguishing it. The smoke drifting up towards the ceiling makes her ache for home. And the chill wafting through the open windows, more so. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite it, she feels much better. She has at least some dignity and security now. She isn’t lonely. She hadn’t expected to find friendship with an Earth Kingdom man, but he had saved her life, even if she loathes to admit it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She slips herself into the bathtub, its wood isn’t exactly friendly on her back as she leans into it and the water is lukewarm at best but the soaps and shampoos are sublime. Having gone without them for so long, she still isn’t through savoring that she still has them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She scrubs herself clean again and dries herself. She isn’t sure how Jet makes his money, but the man has surprised her with new clothing in her size. Almost her size anyhow, it isn’t exactly fitted as all of her old clothing was, but it serves its purpose. She must admit that the garments are quite cozy for peasant wears. At the very least they are warm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula wanders out of the bathroom with her dirty clothes in hand. The table is already set and he actually has a candle burning in the center. Just one very small tea light but a candle no less. She recalls that she had mentioned her birthday approaching. She hadn’t mentioned the day, so she chalks it up to a very lucky guess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sits down. “Why are you doing all of this? You hate firebenders.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I used to.” Jet replies. “Trust me, I’m trying. I was kind of hoping that if I took you in you’d keep providing me with reasons…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re hilarious.” She keeps her expression deadpan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately for me you’ve kind of been doing the opposite.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She quirks a brow. “I didn’t realize that you were a fan of being belittled and…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He takes her hands, suddenly the conversation veers into seriousness. “You don’t do that unless we’re joking...right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nods, “that’s correct.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess that this whole time I’ve just only seen firebenders as one image. As a memory of my burning village and parents. I never really saw people.” He pauses. “Until now I haven't gotten to see hurt and happiness. I didn’t really see humanity.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think that you might be looking in the wrong place if you’re trying to see humanity…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think that you like to repress your humanity. But you don’t have to, I’ve already seen it.” He runs his fingers over the small pockmarks left by thrown stones. She looks away from them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s different here in the Earth Kingdom. You can express yourself. You can dance, you can sing, you can even get away with talking back to your parents sometimes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At this she recoils, “I could never…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He flinches, seeming to remember who he is talking to. “My point is that you don’t always have to be so well mannered here. You can have fun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looks at his collection of scattered socks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, you see things in me that aren’t there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see things in you that can be if you let them in.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She bites the inside of her lip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you telling me that your perspective hasn’t changed at all?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Depends, which topic are we discussing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your views on the Earth Kingdom, on its people. On the lower class.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula winces, her stomach beginning to flutter. She isn’t sure exactly what she is ashamed of. “Perhaps a little.” She has trouble seeing herself as a member of the peasant class, has trouble resigning herself to that she has lost her title. But she also has trouble clinging to the view that all of them are horrible. Jet isn’t completely unbearable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we have this conversation later?’ He offers. “I think that you have a birthday to enjoy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t done that in years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe this one will be a good one.” He says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Getting her to socialize is the hardest task still. Somehow it is more tedious than it had been to make her safe meals. The former princess is terribly reluctant to speak with anyone. He can’t particularly hold it against her knowing how much resentment the people here seem to have for her. With any luck they might not recognize her now that she is clean and short-haired. He doesn’t count on it, she is the only firebender he has seen in this town, the public will be able to put two and two together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though he has a few people who will accept her or at least give her a chance. As promised he wakes her up early when the rest of the village has yet to arise. They have a quick breakfast and then they head out. Other than his yard, Azula hasn’t really been out much, occasionally she stops to gander at the landscape or point out some animal that isn’t common to the Fire Nation. He can’t get her to admit it but he knows, no matter how many times she calls them annoying, that she enjoys the singing prairie dogs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Smellerbee has a pet prairie dog!” He notes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My condolences.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nudges her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They meet in the forest like old times. He watches The Duke chuck a rock into the pond. Azula goes somewhat tense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey everyone, I told you that I had someone for you to meet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Duke throws a final rock before turning around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jet doesn’t realize that he is holding Azula’s hand until Smellerbee remarks, “is she your girlfriend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He puts her hand down and sputters, “no!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, because you don’t date firebenders.” Pipsqueak pipes up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not it.” He says quickly. “I told you that I’m trying to be more open minded. That’s why Azula is here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The princess?” Smellerbee asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s not so imposing after you get to know her.” He pauses for her to fill in. When she doesn’t he adds, “she isn’t very good with small talk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry,” she mutters. “Jet already told me that war stories aren’t the best kind to open with. But I don’t really have any others to tell.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about that one about you and your brother on Ember Island, the one where you got chased by a wild hog-monkey.” He suggests. “Or you can tell them about your hobbies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They don’t want to hear about firebending.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t mind that.” Pipsqueak says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Long Shot nods in agreement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gives her space, perhaps much more than she needs, to run through her katas. He is still getting used to controlled fires and fires used for the sake of entertainment and sport. He must admit that she is elegant and after some time he usually finds that watching her is relaxing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She finishes with a small burst of lightning, presumably the kind that won’t draw unwanted attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s almost like a dance!’ The Duke pipes up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula nods. “I’ve been working on something like that. Dancing was outlawed in my homeland some time back. I’ve decided to try it now that I...have the freedom to do so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like dancing.” Smellerbee notes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jet begins to relax.This is going much smoother than he had expected. He thinks that he owes it to them just being thankful that he is letting go of some of his prejudices. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time word gets around that her exile has been lifted, Azula isn’t quite sure that she is ready to go home. She is rather enjoying  traveling around with Jet and his Freedom Fighters. It isn’t exactly the life she had imagined for herself, but it is free. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She is free. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She still has no love for the town that had bloodied her body with their stones and marred her dignity by spitting upon her. But she has found towns that have taken more kindly and more sympathetically to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She also hadn’t imagined that she’d find a romantic partner, let alone one of Earth Kingdom descent. She’d always imagined that her marriage would be strictly political. Yet she lays next to Jet, holding him close. It is her turn to do the holding. After much bickering they decided to take turns with that. She much prefers to do the holding, apparently he is the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smellerbee groans every time she happens upon them in a more tender moment. But there isn’t much privacy traveling in a group with only a few tents and sleeping bags. But she doesn’t have too many complaints, all things considered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She has seen much and done much. She has found knowledge, that she hadn’t expected to acquire. She finds herself observing earthbending techniques and weaving them into her firebending stances. In turn she finds herself teaching firebending stances to earthbenders that they meet on the road. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It is the sort of knowledge that Azula has been deprived of. She didn’t realize that she had been craving it until her hunger for it has been satiated. It is only after her wanderlust subsides that she finds her way to the docks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.oOo.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jet is terribly nervous to venture into the Fire Nation, but he had promised the soon to be re-crowned princess that he would. Fair is fair, she’d given the Earth Kingdom a real chance, now he will give the Fire Nation one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wonders if she is going to bring any Earth Kingdom culture home with her. Even if she won’t say it, he thinks that she had enjoyed a good portion of her time there. He looks at the singing prairie dog squirming in her arms, she is certainly bringing something home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He comes to stand by her. The ocean breeze rustles her hair. It still isn’t as long as it had been, but it has grown to reach her shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You nervous to go back?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula shakes her head, “I am ready. I have been ready. I miss home.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, at least you know that you’ll receive a warm welcome.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am going to push you overboard.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wraps his hands around her middle and kisses the top of her head. “Then who will accompany you back to the palace.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pipsqueak.” She remarks without missing a beat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, fair enough.” He laughs. With it their conversation meets its natural conclusion. For quite some time they simply watch the sea roll by. It’s waters dyed orange by the sunset. Its rays throw sparkles across the water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose I should thank you.” Azula speaks up at last. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For what?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For letting me live with you and giving me a chance.” She paues. “For helping me realize what family values aren’t so valuable.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pulls her closer. “It isn’t such a big deal…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is.” She insists. “I would have died; either of starvation of someone in that town would have gotten sick of me…” she trails off. “It isn’t easy to...reshape someone’s views.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right about that.” Jet agrees, heaven knows that he wouldn’t have been able to do so if she didn’t stick around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know.” She replies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think that your brother is going to be surprised?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gives him a devious smirk. “He better be. I want to see the look on his face when…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns him to face her and pulls him into a rather aggressive kiss. “If we can make Smellerbee cringe, imagine what Zuzu will do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a still so devious.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He allowed me to be exiled.” She shrugs. “Making out in front of him is the least harmful payback I can think up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess.” He replies. He supposes that he doesn’t want to pass up an opportunity for a lengthier kiss. “We’ll add a little more steam to the Fire Nation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I don’t make good on my threat to throw you overboard.” She rolls her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the conversation fades out again, he finds himself staring dead ahead. Somewhere on the horizon the Fire Nation looms. Somewhere on the horizon is his chance to shed past hatred completely.  </span>
</p>
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